Diabetes is a common disease that affects people of all age. Diabetes is the condition when the glucose in human body is too high. According to WHO (World Health Organization), diabetes is a chronic, metabolic disease characterized by elevated levels of blood glucose (or sugar blood), which leads over time to serious damage to heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and nerves. About 422 million people worldwide have diabetes, the majority happen in low-and middle-income countries, and 1.5 million deaths are directly attributed to diabetes each year. The two most common type of diabetes are type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. They have share name, but yet they have distinct characteristics, causes, symptoms, and management methods. Here is the explanation about each type of diabetes.
Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes, is the condition when body's immune attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in pancreas. This makes the pancreas produce little or no insulin. Insulin is the important hormone uses to allow and control glucose in blood to enter the cells to produce energy. Other possible type 1 diabetes is caused by genetics and exposure to viruses and other environmental factors.
Symptoms:
Type 1 diabetes symptoms can include:
- Feeling more thirsty than usual
- Urinate often
- Extreme hunger/feeling very hungry
- Unexplained weight loss
- Blurry vision and fatigue
Management Methods
There is no way in preventing type 1 diabetes. However, researchers are still looking for ways and working for it. The treatment is directed toward managing the amount of sugar in the blood by using insulin, diet, self-monitoring, and lifestyle to prevent complications.
Â
Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is the condition when human body have a problem in regulates and uses sugar to produce energy. This long-term condition results in too much sugar circulating in the blood. Type 2 diabetes is more common in older adults. But the increase the number of children having obesity has led to more cases of type 2 diabetes in younger people. Type 2 diabetes is mainly the results of two problems. When the cells in the muscle, fat, and liver become resistant to insulin, as a result the cells do not take enough sugar. And the condition when the pancreas does not make enough insulin to keep blood sugar levels within a healthy range. The most common that causing type 2 diabetes is including lifestyle factors, overweight/obesity, insulin resistance, genes, and family history.
Symptoms:
- Feeling more thirsty than usual
- Urinate often
- Extreme hunger/feeling very hungry
- Unexplained weight loss
- Blurry vision and fatigue
- Slow healing sores
- Numbness or tingling in the hands or feet
- Areas of darkened skin, usually in the armpits and neck
